Dries Van Noten Fall/Winter 2015-2016 Collection – Paris Fashion Week

68 pieces dedicated to “the true style icons of recent generations”… There were more pieces on this singular Dries Van Noten fall/winter 2015-2016 collection fashion show unveiled during Paris Fashion Week than we have seen among so many of the previous designers’ lines that have gotten onto the New York Fashion Week or Milan runways. It appears as if Dries Van Noten has brought fairy tale attire to the modern world and presented them with a rather independent playlist of models. There were tie-on splaying train skirts and cargo trousers, while the buzzwords of the night seemed to include “couture and casual” as well as “grounded glamour” alongside the ideal that anything goes and the evening aesthetics are much more to the Belgian designer’s liking.

The macs were turned into dresses perfect for an evening at the ball with Cinderella in a more modern but eclectic world, complete with cinched waists and billowing skirts, while some of the pieces had feathers and flowers fastened to the neck and brocade rich boots clad the perfectly dainty feet of the ladies who were kind enough to deliver such a lovely morsel of fashionable attire to us on a Wednesday afternoon. The idea here seems to be layering; this includes layering all forms of rich garments together to create an incredible effect, with palette drenched arms on tops and sand colored trench coats on top of lovely sequined gowns. Between the wide leg velvet trousers and the Scarlett O’Hara style skirts billowing with every step around the legs, we’re not sure what kind of land we have entered but we are certainly hoping to find our own happily ever after.

Flamboyance and nonchalance combine to create the perfectly passionate Van Noten woman who looks amazing both when dressed up and dressed down, beautiful no matter if she’s in a tighter skirt with a midi hem or larger leg lightweight fabric pair of pants. Most, if not all of the pieces available in this collection are of a larger make, oversized tops and fluttering skirts alike. The colors include rich scarlet reds and darker dried blood coloring, beige, camel and brown hues along with yellows and blues, white feathers and golden coats, navy backgrounds and black bases; we have burnt orange and some mahogany, Marsala makes an appearance along with copper prints; we even see a touch of purple towards the middle of the collection before it is the blue of the dusk sky with the stars overhead that have us falling in love with the looks once again. Pastel blues and pinks somehow also make the cut, but it is the purple floral prints that really turn our heads and have us double checking our eyes for they are perfectly lovely with their amethyst hues and the gentle sway of the skirts against the models’ legs.

This is a gorgeous collection and certainly a long one deserving of praise for each and every uniquely different outfit showcased on the runway, particularly the one in navy coloring with the see through button down shirt showing off the body fully underneath, a large pink flower located just atop the bust to bring the eyes to the breasts being shown off, tucked into large legged trousers and finished off with a tie-on train skirt with lovely floral patterning and designs that has us wondering what fantasies were playing though Dries Van Noten’s mind while putting this together.

Photos courtesy of Style.com

Written by Tamar Najarian

Tamar is a psychologist, teaching and heading into the business world with a prospective MBA. A silly lover of books and words, she generally loves to seek out new adventures, getting her toes wet and her hands dirty. Having moved to Armenia nearly two years ago, she feels like the world is at her fingertips and anything is possible so long as you take a step in that direction.